In a real-life rendition of the movie Taare Zameen Par many times over, more than 15 dyslexic students of Swami Vivekanand High School affiliated to Vivekanand Education Society (VES), Chembur scored more than 80% marks in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination.

“The excellent marks attained by these students speaks miles of their grit, hard work and determination to succeed against any odds. Right from the start of the academic year, the children were steadfast in their studies and did not miss out on any lessons. Teachers of the school took extra efforts in explaining the finer points of each subject which helped students ingrain a deeper understanding of each topic and sub-topic. Students were made to solve question papers of former academic years in mock exams which not only helped enhance their concentration power but also helped them ready for the competitive pressure ahead,” stated Ms Cynthia Dawson, Principal, Swami Vivekanand High School. In addition, the school has a technically advanced methodology of imparting lessons to its pupils through visual aids which is beneficial in remembering the lesson over a long-term period and improvement of the grasping ability of a student.

Attributing his success to his teachers and their steadfast attention to the students, Jay Fofaliya a student with Dyslexia, who scored 86.80 percent in the SSC exams stated, “the teachers from our school are the epitomes of diligence, hard-work and commitment. Dyslexic students like me were given individual attention by each teacher during the course of the academic year. We were made to solve lots of question papers of former exams as well as special papers which were set by our teachers. These exercises not only honed our academic skills but also helped in understand each subject in depth and led to us getting good marks in the exams.”

Swami Vivekanand High School has achieved 100 % result in the recently-concluded SSC exams. Sanika Bagwe topped the ranks with 95.6%, Rhea Sukhija emerging second with 95.4% and Gayatri Bokey and Sai Sadashiv sharing the third rank with 95.2 percent respectively.  More than 94 students out of 361 students of the school have scored a percentile of 90 and above.

“Dyslexia is commonly known as a reading disorder and is characterized by reading trouble inspite of the person possessing normal intelligence. The disorder affects different people in varying degrees. Problems include difficulties in spelling words, quick reading of sentences, writing words, spelling words in the head, pronunciation problems when reading words loudly and understanding what has been read.” Said Dr. Sharmila Banwat, Child and Youth Psychiatrist at Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital, who also stressed on providing writers with normal intelligence levels for dyslexic students in their exams and a stimulating environment wherein dyslexic students would be encouraged to pursue a normal academic career and life.